] Companies like General Motors, AOL Time Warner and] Marriott earn revenue by piping adult movies into] Americans' homes and hotel rooms, but you won't see] anything about it in their company reports.] And you won't hear them talking about the production] companies that actually make the films or the] performers the producers hire, men and women as young as] 18, for sex that is often unprotected.

] "Suppose you endured the checkout line at the grocery] store only to find that you were short on cash, or you'd] forgotten your wallet. What if you could settle the bill] with just the touch of your finger?]] Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR - news), the largest U.S. supermarket] chain, is offering some customers just that opportunity,] testing finger imaging as a method of payment in three of] its Texas stores."

Its bad enough that Kroger knows my address and all the food I buy, but now they want our fingerprint. I think not.

"A federal judge fined accounting firm Andersen $500,000 and sentenced it to five years probation for obstructing justice in a probe of client Enron, a hollow punishment as the auditor is all but out of business.

Since it is a corporate conviction, no one will serve jail time. But the firm, which keeps a minimal corporate structure primarily to settle mountains of litigation, will have to pay the fine and one of its employees will likely have to meet with federal probation authorities.

The conviction meant Andersen could no longer audit publicly traded companies, but it was by then a moot point since the indictment had caused nearly all of the firm's publicly traded clients to leave."

"MICROSOFT CORP., Redmond, Wash., is getting in on the action by lending some of its cash to help companies buy its software. The worldâs largest software company has established a small unit, called Microsoft Capital, whose mission is to drum up business with low-interest loans and leases."

Vendor financing didn't work in the '90s, doubt it will work here.This time though, Microsoft has the reserves and not get injured.

"Think formal education helps in business? Think again. Chief executives who went to graduate school don't seem to make any more money for their shareholders than those with no advanced degree. MBAs may actually do worse than those with no advanced degree, although they fare better than lawyers. "

"Home Depot said Monday that it's building a massive new database that will give it a clearer picture of its customers and operations. The new system will store information about customers, sales, inventory and company finances from a multitude of computer systems. The world's biggest home-improvement retailer, Home Depot expects to get the database up and running by the end of the year."

"You can remove your name from prescreened credit or insurance offer mailing lists from Experian, Innovis, TransUnion and Equifax by calling 888 5OPT OUT (888 567 8688). You will be given a choice to opt out for two years or permanently. If you elect to opt out permanently, you will be mailed a Notice of Election to Opt Out Permanently, which you must sign and return to activate your permanent opt-out. Even though your request becomes effective with Experian within five days of your notifying us, it may take several months before you see a reduction in the amount of solicitations. "